Consistantly Inconsistant

I would never dream of misqouting Forrest Gump.

But, I think his famous movie line should have been   "Motherhood is like a box of chocolates.
You never know what your gonna get."

2 weeks ago I got Mastitis (inflamation in the breast caused by a plugged milk duct). It came with a fever of 102, chills and achiness all over my body. I had to take antibiotics, which I didn't like. But honestly, I was just thankful that I hadn't come down with a cold that the baby could catch. I read that it also helps to have longer/more frequent breastfeedings and rest...so that's what I did.

The next week, I had a baby who suddenly forgot what time he went to bed. We struggled to get him to sleep and he started waking up during the night where, before, he was sleeping straight through. Can you say GROWTH SPURT!

This week (thankfully!) he's pretty much back to normal and I am feeling all better (no plugged milk ducts here). I have started getting up once during the night to pump so that I can keep the milk moving and hopefully won't get Mastitis again.

I am REALLY tired.

He normally goes down anywhere between 8:30pm and 9:30pm, I pump whenever i happen to wake up (which has been around 3am or 4am lately) and then he wakes up around 6am to eat.

I never know exactly how my day will go, but There are some things that stay consistant. Like, I know he is going to be hungry around every 3 hours.           I know that he will take at least 2 naps during the day and I can get some work done.

I actually know that he has a poo poo every day around 10am!

I figured this out when I put him in the car seat each morning to go to work. I would have him all strapped in and then the gurgling noises would start. I'd pick him up and sure enough he had a big blow out. Poopy all over his clothes and the car seat. This was happening every morning. I finally got smart. Instead of putting him in the car seat right away after feeding him, I put him in his bouncer with a blanket underneath him. This way he could have his major blow out, and I could just throw the blanket in the wash instead of having to clean his car seat out.

Problem arises, solution found and so goes motherhood.

Duncan is 6 months old today!

That means that teething, crawling and a whole slew of changes are just around the corner.

I know how I can handle this.

Someone pass over that box of chocolates!

Time Flies, Even When You Stop at All the Stop Lights

Wow.  This is rare.

 Baby is asleep. Husband is still asleep.

 I am by myself enjoying the quiet and some mocha coconut coffee. AND I'm blogging!

So, the last time I blogged, I looked like this . . .

Just look at the expression on my face :-) I was having contractions all day long and wanted to take one last belly picture in case the baby came that day. 

I'm glad we took the pic, because Duncan came early the next morning on March 18, 2012.

I won't go into all of the details, but I had labored as long as I could at the house with the awesome help of my husband, our Doula and my mom and dad. When contractions got real intense, we decided to go to the hospital. As we made our way out to the car my water broke. That made our ride a little more urgent!

My dad was in the driver seat, because I needed Daniel to press on my back each time I had a contraction   (back labor was the worst)!! I don't think my dad realized just how much pain I was in, because he stopped at EVERY SINGLE red light on the way to the hospital. I am not joking. Even though it was like midnight and no cars in sight.

It's funny now, but next time I'm giving him instructions to FLOOR IT, please!

Our handsome blue eyed boy is now FIVE months old! And looks like this . . .

Yes, time sure does fly. Even when you stop at all the stop lights! ;-)

Yesterday morning I took him for a walk in his stroller. Just up and down our street. It was so pretty out.

In case you are wondering...yes...plaid, robots and camo are what all of the hip babies are wearing right now.

It's been a huge transition into motherhood for me. I am constantly learning. He is a really good baby and sleeping through the night, so that makes it a little easier on this new mama (thank you Jesus). 

Well, now that I've kind of caught you up date - are any of YOU going through a transition in life right now? I would love to hear about them, whether big or small. 

I'm hoping to have more mornings like this, so I can start blogging again. Uh, oh. Duncan is awake. And I can hear him filling up his diaper. Gotta Run.

Much Love,

Heather

Dear Baby Thursday

Dear Little Monkey,

Spring is already here. I can tell by the trees that have bloomed, becoming big balls of bright yellow. And by the appearance of annoying grasshoppers that always invade this time of year!

You will be here in exactly 6 weeks!

I read somewhere that it's a good idea to make a time capsule for your baby, so they can know what things were going on the year that they were born.

You might be interested to know that The New York Giants won the Super Bowl this year and a famous singer named Whitney Houston passed away this week. Mommy sang one of her songs "I Will Always Love You" in a 5th grade talent show. Whitney's version was a number one hit (mommy's version just won runner-up)  ;-)

I will try to keep a record for you of world events and our own family happenings in 2012.

Mommy and Daddy are about to hit TWO BIG milestones this year. We are both turning 30! Daddy's older. He'll be the big 3-0 next week and my turn will be the first week of March.

And, of course, we will beome parents when you enter this world.

I hope you love your nursery. It is starting to come together. Mommy & Daddy have your crib set up.

And here is the fabric that I picked out for your curtains and crib skirt.



Daddy says, since you are a boy, you won't really care how your room is decorated. But, mommy will be spending a lot of time in your room, so it has to look pretty.

The other day when I was looking at your ultrasound picture, I felt this sense of great responsibility. I'm not sure how someone can have a child and not want to nurture it and give it the best that they can. I was reminded of the bible verse that says,

“Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!" Matt. 7:9-11

I don't even know you yet, but I love you and want to give you the world ;-)

Now take that and times it by eternity. That's how much more God loves us as His children and wants to give us good things. And He knows EVERYTHING about us. He knows what stinkers we are.

God loves you more than anyone in this world can love you. And you can trust Him.

Lots of Love Baby,

Mommy

Well, I told you to hold your applause . . .

Well, I told you to hold your applause when I claimed to be posting 14 days in a row! ;-)

I honestly think i missed 3 days of doing something sweet for my husband, too.

My life right now is snacking, doctor's appointments, preparing home for baby, preparing finances . . preparing EVERYTHING for baby and ...did I mention snacking?

Look what Mr. Sweet surprised me with before VDay!

No, they didn't look this frumpy when he gave them to me. I've had them for about a week before snapping a picture!

Well, I hope everyone had a lovely Valentines Day and that you were able to show your man the love.

These are the days I do remember:

Day 9: Light A Candle

We still have 2 dozen votive candles from our wedding reciption 3 years ago. I pull them out and use them for special occasions. Tonight I lined some up on our entertainment center, lit them and we spent a quiet evening at home. Candleight is so romantic!

Day 11: I Love You More than Coffee

I found this cute card and had to get it for Daniel.

He knows how much I love coffee, so this message meant a lot to him ;-) I brought his morning coffee to him on a tray along with this card.

Day 14: VALENTINES DAY

I would have loved to have gone out for dinner, but neither of us wanted to try to get into a restaurant on Valentine's night. So, I cooked up some steak, tortellini and asparagus with Tiramisu for dessert.

The steak didn't turn out so great ;-( But, the Tiramisu made up for it!

After dinner, Daniel handed me a heart shaped box of chocolates. When I opened it, this was inside . . .

It's such a pretty bracelet. It melted this soon-to-be mama's heart.

I didn't buy my hubby a gift, but I did make him a "Date Night" jar. I came up with about 12 fun (and inexpensive) things we could do, so whenever we are needing some ideas, we can pull one from the jar. I told him that even though we are about to have a baby and things will seem out of whack for awhile, I was still going to make time for him and for us to do things together.

I also told him he can add his own ideas to the jar as well.

I have a feeling that he might not like ALL of my ideas - like the one to "rent a dancing video and learn a new dance." ;-)

Sweet on my Husband - Spicing Things Up!

I have turned on my computer the last 2 nights in a row, with full intentions on blogging. Our computer is older (and can be slower than a checkout line at Walmart) so we give it a good 10 minutes to warm up. Well, it seems to happen, that by the time we have made dinner, eaten, cleaned up, checked things off our to do list (and of course watched a little tv), I am ready to blog - but Daniel is ready for bed.

Lesson: blogging is a commitment that I have to make more time for and I have got to buy more memory so our slow-as-molasses computer will run faster!

With that said . . .

Hubby hasn't said anything about my extra sweetness lately. Maybe he thinks I'm trying to earn points toward a lovely gift for myself for Valentines Day. It would be nice . . . but, not my motive ;-)

Here's how I've been earning points showing my love these last couple of days.

(Monday) Day 6: Back Massage

I've been trying to listen to my hubby more. To see what he might need on a particular day. Today, his back was hurting and he asked for a back massage. These hot stones definately would have made it more luxurious!

This personal massage stone set by RubRocks got good reviews at Amazon.com

I have also seen kits at Books-A-Million with the stones and instructions on how to use them. Hmmm, maybe a future gift idea or date night! ;-)


(Tuesday) Day 7: "Spicing" Things Up

Daniel is learning the fine art of grilling and he enjoys trying different seasonings and recipes. A friend recommended Everglades Seasoning, so when I saw it at Publix I had to get it.

This was waiting for him to find on the kitchen counter.

(Today) Day 8: U R Fun

And this will be waiting for him to find tonight.

We both like playing scrabble together (even though he beats me mercilessly). I found this variation of the game at Walmart, called Scrabble SLAM! Card Game. It's a 4-letter word game where you race against each other to change the existing word and get rid of your cards. Sounds fun and maybe I can win! Probably won't have time to play tonight, but maybe this weekend.

Just FIVE more days till Valentine's Day! Does anyone have any special plans?

Sweet on my Husband - A Manly Weekend

BBQ, a Sci-Fi movie and the Superbowl. It was a Man's weekend. Well, there were some activities for baby preperation thrown in there too ;-)

Mimi came over Saturday morning to start painting the nursery. We got half of the painting done, and also cleaned the window & blinds and measured for curtains (Mimi is making them for us).

After the painting is done, we will have to start hanging everything on the walls. Not to mention, find places in the nursery to store all of baby's items!



Two CUTE canvas pictures I bought for the Nursery.

When hubby got home from work, we headed out to "Smoke on the Water" in Winter Haven. It was packed with people and we had to walk a little ways after parking. I SO wanted to try a fried Snickers or fried Reece Cup that they had! I was craving me some french fries too. But, I settled for a pulled pork sandwich and a brisket sandwich and was happy.



Sorry, I didn't get any pictures of the BBQ. It went in our mouths too fast ;-)

There were many vendors to choose from. Most offered pulled pork, brisket, chicken and ribs but we also saw frog legs, fresh pork rinds and Polk egg rolls. Some of the food was a little on the expensive side, but it is a fundraiser with proceeds going to The Boys and Girls Club of Winter Haven.

If you drool over some good ol' southern BBQ like us, Haines City has their own  Ribs on the Ridge coming up February 24th and 25th.

After a while of walking around outside, we were ready for some air conditioning! We watched a Sci-Movie at the theatre (Daniel's pick) and then attempted to make a Mayonnaise Chocolate Cake at home (also Daniel's pick and my "something sweet" for him).

The cake didn't turn out quite as we had hoped. It was more dense, than moist. But, as you can see, we still ate it. And the homemade frosting we made for it was DELICIOUS. 

On Sunday, I told hubby that I would make him a special breakfast after church. Egg & Cheese Grits mini soufles, sausage and blueberry waffles.

Well, the breakfast (like the cake) did not go according to plan. For the life of me, I could not find the Ramekin dishes for the soufles, so Daniel ended up just making his own fried egg. He also had to cook his own sausages, because the waffle recipe I was working on was taking longer than I intended.

It's the thought that counts, right?

We ended our day with the Super Bowl at my mom and dad's. I honestly did not watch a second of the game, though. I was working on a project I've been wanting to do before baby arrives. I have tons of recipes that I have torn out of magazines and printed off the computer that I needed to sort through and put into categories. I worked on it through the entire game and did look up occasionally to watch some commercials and half time ;-)

We are not use to so much activity, because we were exhausted at the end of the weekend.

I wonder if next weekend can be a girly weekend? Spa, Chick Flick . . .we can still have BBQ ;-)





Sweet on my Husband - Day 3

Well, today's act of love was pretty simple. I made my husband's lunch.

I just had to do it at 5:30am in the morning!

My pegnant self can hardly roll out of bed at 8:20am to go to work, so I'm not prepared to make his lunch every morning. But, this morning (at 5:30am) I did.

I threw in some string cheese as a special treat (yes, we get excited over string cheese) and one of these super hero love notes below. Doesn't every man want to hear that he is a super hero?

Sweet Ingrediants:

- Hubby's Lunch Favorites
- Lunch Box or Bag
- A Love Note




Get free superhero valentine printables at Less Ordinary Designs.


If your husband (or kids) take their lunch in a paper bag, check out this cute valentines wish you can print right onto the bag. You can also just print it onto cardstock for a love note.



Download for free at The Sweetest Occasion.

Feels like it's been a long day. Guess it's because I got up so early. I think I'll get a Mcdonalds Frappe and grab one for the hubster too ;-)


BABY UPDATE: We had another ultrasound today. Baby has gained a pound. He is now 4lb, 3oz and looks to be on schedule. Mommy is doing something next week she has never done before...interview pediatricians!